


Networked

by gaycousin_tm



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: F/M, First Dates, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, He's def your cute lil work husband, Height Differences, Height Kink, Honey starts off annoying af but I promise you'll love him, Making Out, Of course he's extra af too, You're taller than Jooheon, work au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2020-01-31 20:14:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18598612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaycousin_tm/pseuds/gaycousin_tm
Summary: You just started work at a call center and your cubicle mate is cute but annoying af..





	Networked

**Author's Note:**

> I usually try to keep it gender neutral but I wrote this for a friend. I'll have to write a conventionally masc reader to cancel out the polarity lmfao..

“Heeeey~” you cringe in semi-confused apprehension as you look up from your notes. _Who could possibly be talking to me?_ You had been cordial with some of the other employees during training but not enough to warrant such an incredibly friendly greeting this early in the morning. A cheerfully smiling face appears from above your cubicle chin nestled on crossed arms. You catch eyes with your new guest, his smile broadens, and you smile back nervously. You think you remember seeing him during training but can’t place his name.  
“Jooheon” he offers a hand over the top of the cubicle deep dimples creasing his cheeks. You tentatively reach up to take his hand “Y/N”.  
“I saw you during training. It seemed like you had an easy time getting the material and since we’re cubicle mates I thought I’d say hi just in case I needed to pick your brain from time to time” he smiles again this time his eyes became cute little crescents.  
“Oh sure, I’m not a professional or anything but I’ll try to help if I can.”  
“Sweet” he lingers over the edge of the cubicle long enough to make squirm a little before sitting back down. _Okaaaay… so was that not weird? People don’t just roll up on coworkers like that right? Hol up, is this what adults do? Was that ‘networking’?? Holyshit did I just get networked?_ You shake off the awkwardness of the exchange and get back to work.

A few months ago you moved out on your own and had discovered adulting was both easier and more difficult than you expected. Finding a job was priority number one and after a weirdly arduous interview process you managed to land a pretty good gig not too far from where you lived. You had been training over the past few weeks to become a customer service rep and while learning new things always appealed to you weren’t particularly enthused about the ins and outs of medical insurance. But money is money and there are a lot worse jobs than this.

You look around at the bare walls of your cubicle contemplating how to decorate your new space when you feel the eerie sensation of someone behind you. You turn around to see Jooheon looking over your shoulder at your computer screen.  
“Yo” he says nonchalantly eyes still fixed on the screen.  
“Umm, d-do you need something?”  
“Nope, just taking my 15 to bother you. You want something from the vending machine?”  
“Nah, I’m good, thanks though.”  
“Oh, I did have something I wanted to ask you about..” he leans in closer squinting at your screen “but my screen doesn’t look the same as yours.”  
“Oh um.. Sure, I’ll take a look” you move to stand up and turn around to see Jooheon has barely moved and is now gaping.  
_Oh christ here we fucking go…_  
“Wow, you’re really tall!!”  
_wOw yOU’rE rEaLLy tALL!1! Yeah, no shit._ “Yeah, I get that a lot.”  
“I’m sorry, I just think it’s really… cool I guess” his bottom lip whirs nervously between his teeth as he rushes to his cubicle on the other side of yours.  
Following behind him you think to yourself, _Cool? What does that even mean?_  
He sits at his monitor and looks plaintively up at you.  
“See?” He points. You look at the screen and back at him in quasi-bemusement, he pouts back at you and as you take in his furrowed brow and cutely puffed out cheeks an odd thought catches you entirely off guard.  
_POIUTYUDYCJVGKJHLJ OH NO HE’S CUTE._  
“What?! Do I have something on my face” his eyebrows raise causing his almond shaped eyes to widen and catch the light from his monitor.  
_Are you fucking kidding me right now?? Hell nope._  
“Uhhh, nah.. you’re fine. I’m just..” You take a second to collect your thoughts “how did you even get to this screen?”  
“I don’t knoooow” he whines. “I logged out to practice logging in, this screen popped up, and it wouldn’t take my login.”  
You study the screen again “ya know what, you’re in the wrong program” realization dawning on you “this is the login for the training module we used, it won’t take your login cuz they gave us new ones remember?”  
“Oh shit!” he slaps his temple with the palm of his hand in mock exasperation “DUH JOOHEON!! Sorry I bothered you with something so dumb.”  
“It’s cool dude, just remember the blue icon is training and the red one is the real thing.”  
“Thanks Y/N!!” he chirps.

Over the next couple weeks Jooheon comes to you with a bunch of little problems with super easy fixes; it ceased to be cute after he went to the wrong login screen for the third time after the first day you helped him. Conversation with him outside of that was actually rather pleasant, he was pretty funny when he wasn’t acting like he didn’t know anything and at this point you knew it had to be an act. You continued to help him all the same but shit was starting to get on your last nerve.

One day you hear the tell tale shuffle of Jooheon leaving his cubicle to come pester you with another made up problem. You meet him with crossed arms, “what tf do you want?” written on every inch of your face. He looks at you sheepishly. Before he can speak you cut him off.  
“So like, what’s your deal? Are you messing with me? You come over here every day asking me the same questions about the same stuff and I really feel like you’re making fun of me or something?”  
His eyes widen from your outburst but quickly relax as he scratches his head and responds “Do you want to eat lunch with me? I can explain then.”  
Taken aback you blink “Wait what, why can’t you tell me now?”  
He gazes at you with a conspiratorial glint in his eye “I don’t want any of these snakes to overhear.” He looks back and forth to add to the secrecy “I promise it’s not bad.”  
“Okay?”  
“Good, I’m ordering from ‘What the Pho’ so take a look at the menu, it’s my treat.”  
_OKAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY…. What could this boy possibly have to say to me?_ A knot curls in the pit of your stomach until lunch time when Jooheon rounds the corner of your cubicle “Ready?”

The pho place is less than a block away so you walk there and opt to eat your ‘to go’ order in the restaurant.

“Sooo?” you question as Jooheon begins to happily unpack his soup. He stops, regarding you with a scarily serious look on his face. Your stomach drops in anticipation. His voice goes low.  
“So, these past few weeks. I’ve been really weird I know. I just kinda wanted to uhh...”  
The knot in your stomach tightens to the brink of nausea and your hands curl into fists under the table as struggle to breath past the lump in your throat.  
“I wanted to ask you out” he says matter of factly.

Relief washes over you at finally hearing the coveted secret that had been plaguing you all day and really the majority of the month if you were being honest. But that relief was immediately replaced by utter shock. You felt as though you had been punched in the gut and the amalgam of emotions that overwhelmed your every synapse hit their climax and you laughed. You laughed because you couldn’t believe. You laughed because your mind didn’t know what else to do. But mostly you laughed because this insanely attractive man was sitting across from you with the most dumbfounded doe-eyed look on his face. His hands were outstretched on the table and you place both of yours on top of his. Through tears you can see that he’s started laughing too. The culmination of all the stress and unease from over the past month rose from your mouths in loud bouts of laughter that died in little fits of giggling.

“Oh my god, oh my god” you gasp through chuckles “that is the last thing I would’ve ever thought you’d say to me.”  
“Is that a good thing?” he asks now self conscious that he received a 2 minute long bout of laughter as an answer.  
“Yes?? I’m just REALLY not used to this kind of thing. Humor is kind of my coping mechanism. I really thought you were trying to mess with me but then you got so damn serious.”  
“I’m sorry about that, I’m usually not like this but I didn’t want you to think I was pranking you or something. Truth is I noticed you the first day of training. You were so tall and gorgeous I just felt.. I don’t know… drawn to you. And everyone around you seemed to be laughing. I wanted to make you laugh.”  
You nearly choke, _g O R G E o U s???… This dude just used the g word!!!!!_  
He looks down at your hands laid over the backs of his and turns his hands over to hold yours. His palms slightly damp with sweat trembled in yours the slightest bit which sends a pang through every sinew of your heart and down to your stomach. _OMG He is so nervous. He is so nervous and he thinks I’m not lololololloololol I could die._

You give his hands the tiniest squeeze because you didn’t know what to say and the smile he gives you in return makes you want to cry.  
“I really wanted to talk to you but couldn’t think of a reason outside annoying you with work stuff. Then I saw how mad you looked today and knew I had to come clean. I’m really sorry I wasn’t honest with you.”  
“Booooooi, you forreal got on my nerves. I’m just glad you actually know what you’re doing!”  
Giving you a sheepish smile he looks you dead in the eye again and asks with a bit more confidence “So is that a yes-- to going out?”  
“Yeah” you reply in a voice that you’re surprised even came out of you. You’re still stunned that Jooheon is remotely interested in you much less romantically so, but you’d be lying if you said you weren’t interested in seeing where this went.  
Looking at the clock he starts “Oh wow we should pack up and get back though, break’s almost over.”  
During your final 15 minute break he wheels his chair around to your cubicle, you finish your pho together, and finalize plans for your first date that coming weekend.

You excitedly anticipate your date with Jooheon as the weekend drew nearer. You had spent much more time than you cared to disclose compiling outfits and rehearsing possible scenarios in preparation for your date. You finally decided on a simple outfit that accentuated your long legs: your favorite pair of jeggings and a cute mauve top paired with a light black cardigan. The only part of the ensemble you remained unsure about were the shoes. You were taller than Jooheon without heels as it was but the black boots you wanted to wear were perfect and wearing sneakers would dress the outfit down. _And didn’t he say he liked my height?_  You agonize over what to choose until Jooheon arrived and as a split decision you went with the boots.

At the doorway Jooheon marvels at you in complete awe. “You look really good. Like REALLY good.”  
“Thanks” you smile back still blown away by the surreality of it all. “Dude, _I_ look good? _YOU_ look good!”  
He’s wearing ripped jeans, a semi-fitted white tank, a black bomber and backwards red snapback. At your compliment he turns around dramatically and whips his head back like a model. “Thank you, it took me 40 minutes just to pick this hat”  
“You’re joking right?”  
With another exaggerated sashay he quips “I don’t joke about hats darling.”  
He takes your hand in his and leads you to the passenger side of his car.  
“So the plan is dinner and a movie. Well uh, a movie and dinner but...”  
“But what?”  
He gazes at you slyly “Paaaatience my dear, I wanted to take you somewhere near and dear to me but it’s a little ways off.” He revs the engine and exclaims “AND WE’RE OFF TO THE RACES!!”  
During the trip you play eye-spy which helps to loosen you up a bit and by the time you pull into the parking lot of a small strip mall the two of you are laughing over punch backs and old ass vine references.

You hop out of the car and he leads you to an old looking building. It actually looks a little bit shady af but you throw caution to the wild and remain optimistic. Upon entering the double doors you’re greeted by what you can only describe as the 60’s. The inside of the building has the old style brickface of an 60’s movie theater. It was absolutely gaudy but also one of the prettiest and most elegant things you’d ever seen and as you gawk at the sight before you Jooheon is grinning watching the wonder dance in your eyes.

You buy your tickets, and some popcorn, candy, and drinks at the concession stand. The main lobby of the theater is lined with modern video games in vintage cabinets and long wall of bubble machines that you’re aching to investigate. Jooheon beats you to the punch and makes a beeline for the toy machines. He takes you by the hand and places a small stack of quarters into your palm whispering into your ear “Be free my child”.  
You laugh at how extra he’s being but are simultaneously delighted that he knew you’d want check out the kiddie stuff. You get a handful of candy and a couple bubble toys. Jooheon insists you get a pair of fake mustaches but when you go to pop one open he places a hand on yours.  
“Bro, let’s open them after the movie, then we can take selfies.”  
“Ayyyyye, good idea” you take both bubbles putting them in your purse and the two of you make your way to the main theater. The place was so small it only had four screens and when you sat down in the plush red seats you noticed you were the only people in the theater. You look over at Jooheon who winks at you knowingly squeezing your hand as the lights go down.

The movie was Avengers Infinity War and while you had already seen it you enjoyed watching it again with Jooheon. At the end of the movie he clapped loudly which reverberated through the empty theater. _Ahahaha why is he so loud?_

When you exit the main lobby of the theater Jooheon hangs a right instead of going back through the double doors of the main building. You then realize you’re in an indoor plaza filled with a series of vintage stores and restaurants. He leads you to the entrance of a 50’s style diner complete with chrome and neon lights. The inside is all checkerboard with pastel pink and teal accents, even gaudier than the movie theater but the nostalgic charm is uncanny.

You’re seated at a booth at the far end of the diner next to the jukebox. The food on the menu looks positively decadent and as you peruse Jooheon jumps up and inserts a couple dollars worth of quarters into the jukebox. Over the surround sound comes the familiar tune of Smooth Criminal to which Jooheon begins dancing full tilt. You’re actually taken aback by how well he can dance doing all of Michael Jackson’s most famous moves with astounding ease and fluidity. He does a glide past the jukebox toward your table and gently caresses your cheek. You can’t help but smile as he dramatically tosses aside his bomber and jumps on his tippy toes tilting his hat downward just like MJ. Watching him dance actually gave you a chance to see a good deal of his body in motion. You never thought you could think of a man’s body as pretty, but it was. The jut of his collarbones as they trailed toward his sternum was pretty. The faint striations of muscle along his forearms were pretty. The way his perfect thighs curved up into his perfect ass was very damn pretty and you wanted to see more. You wanted to know all there was to know about him and his body and you couldn’t wait for him to share.

And almost as soon as it had begun the song was over. You clapped as Jooheon bowed graciously and took a seat across from you.

He orders a burger and fries with a root beer float while you opt for chicken and waffles with a side of mac and cheese and an ice tea.

The food is nothing short of amazing and at the end of your meal Jooheon asks for the check and piece of blackberry cobbler a la mode to go.  
“Why don’t we just eat it here?”  
“Have you ever seen a Sonic commercial? Where they sit in the car, eat, and talk about stupid shit?”  
“Yeah, I guess?”  
“Trust me, it’s lit. We’re going to do a Sonic commercial.”  
The two of you sit in the car wearing your bubble machine mustaches with the doggy box balanced on the council between you.  
“So... if you had a pet shark, what would you name it?” Jooheon asks pensively.  
“A fucking shark? Who even has a pet shark?”  
“Rich guys named Steve presumably..”  
“STEVE?!?!” you interject.  
“Yes! So Steve, what’s your shark’s name?”  
“Man I don’t even know, Bruce?”  
“From fuckin Finding Nemo!?” Jooheon guffaws.  
“Yeeeah buddy”  
Jooheon thinks to himself and admits “Good choice, damn good choice. I’m naming mine Kiki.”  
“Why Kiki?”  
“Why not?”  
“Good point” you concede cackling at the prospect of a great white named Kiki.

Toward the end of dessert Jooheon playfully fights you for the last spoonful and you laugh when he smears ice cream on the side of his mouth in the efforts to keep you from having it. You don’t know if you’re feeling uninhibited by the fun you’ve been having or if you’ve just lost your goddamn mind but you lean in and lick the ice cream from the corner of his lips and cheek. Now it was Jooheon’s turn to be surprised.  
“You did NOT just lick my face”  
“Sure did son, whatcha gon do about it?”  
Raising a brow he licks you back smirking in triumph to which you return yet another lick. Your questionably innocent tongue fight quickly turns to something more heated as you stop trading licks in favor of kisses and bites. Lightly trailing a hand up your thigh Jooheon deepens the kiss hungrily lapping his tongue against yours. The sticky sweet taste of vanilla lingers on his tongue and your hushed moans embolden him to lean in further sending shocks of arousal through your entire body. Feathering your fingers through the hair at his nape you pull him in desperate for more. You bite his bottom lip eliciting a growl from Jooheon, starting low and deep and crescendoing to a beautifully needy moan. He looks at you in hazed desperation as he peppers sweet kisses down your cheek and neck he sucks a deep purple hickey onto your collarbone. Kissing it gently he leans his forehead against yours. “I really like this--” he gestures nebulously “I really like you.” He kisses you again and you smile against his lips “Me too.”  
He interlaces your fingers and brings your hand to his lips to kiss it. The felt mustache tickles against the back your hand as the setting sun bathes the two of you in shades of honey, amber, and gold. You lean back in your seat, enraptured. Just a couple headasses falling in love.


End file.
